Continental jet makes emergency landing in Honduras

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, April 8, 2008

A Continental Airlines jet carrying 76 people made an emergency landing in Honduras on Wednesday after a bird was sucked into one of its engines. There were no reports of injuries.

The bird _ apparently a large buzzard _ flew into the engine of the Houston-bound Boeing 737-800 about 20 minutes after the plane took off from the capital of Tegucigalpa, Continental manager Gerardo Carrillo said.

Oscar Alvarez, a former government security minister who was on the flight, told HRN radio he felt "a strong explosion on the left side of the plane and then a heavy vibration."

"But the plane quickly stabilized," Alvarez said. "The pilot spoke to us over the loudspeakers, explained the situation and asked us to remain calm."

The aircraft switched course and landed without further incident 110 miles (180 kilometers) away in the northern city of San Pedro Sula. Firefighters met the stricken jet on the runway to help passengers disembark.

"Thank God nothing else happened," Carrillo said. "The pilots reacted skillfully and followed navigation procedures to make the landing."